Government should not fund charities that lobby for law changes

The Third Sector reports on Chris Snowdon at the Public Administration Select Committee

Government should not give grants to charities to lobby for changes in the law, a parliamentary select committee has heard.

Christopher Snowdon, a research fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, was giving evidence this morning to the Public Administration Select Committee as part of its inquiry into charitable regulation.

He said that although he felt it was acceptable for charities to do any amount of political lobbying, and to receive tax relief on donations to do so, they should not be allowed to lobby government or the public if the money they received came from the government itself.